Chitchat Why Jamus Lim join Workers' Party ?

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Jamus went tp a dinner and also markets and coffeeshops.

Jamus Lim​

14 hrs ·
Over the past weekend, in addition to our various ground activities in #SengkangGRC, the #TeamSengkang representatives were also involved in various #workersparty activities.
On Saturday, we welcomed both residents and supporters to our annual national day dinner. We had been unable to host this event over the past two years—due to COVID-19 restrictions—and being able to finally do so was a reminder of how much of our social activities we’ve all had to sacrifice during the pandemic. #TeamSengkang helped close the evening with two songs, acoustic renditions of 小人物的心声, and Home.
Bright and early Sunday morning, we headed to several markets and coffeeshops in Bedok, for our Hammer newspaper sales. Hammer sales serve several purposes; they offer our alternative perspectives on news and policies of the day, and they also help us in fundraising for our party activities. They also offer us another incidental benefit: we get to connect with other Singaporeans, who may not be from our wards, and allow us to understand their concerns about matters of national importance. Thanks to those who stopped to chat with us!

 

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Jamus and colleagues talk to residents.

 

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Jamus plays the guitar.

 

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Jamus poses unmasked with other unmasked people.

 

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Jamus met delegates from Cambodia.

Jamus Lim​

11 hrs ·
Yesterday, I was part of a small delegation of parliamentarians, led by Patrick Tay, that met with legislators and members of the executive branch from Cambodia, led by His Excellency Hun Many, the youngest son of the sitting prime minister, Hun Sen.
Although seldom on the minds of regional observers due to their relatively small size, Cambodia is one of the transition countries of Southeast Asia—so-called because they are transitioning away from centralized communist economies—that have posted consistently impressive rates of growth, averaging the high single digits, since the Asian financial crisis of 1997. While this occurred from a low base, the convergence of such formerly low-income countries toward middle-income status is a good thing, not least because it uplifts the lives of millions of people. Given Cambodia’s troubled history, this has been a remarkable transformation.
During our reception and subsequent dinner, we spoke about such challenges of development, our countries’ approaches to managing the COVID-19 pandemic, and the usage of social media. In the spirit of our own national day, I also learned that Cambodia was among the first countries to recognize Singapore’s independence, having done so on August 10, 1965.

 

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Jamus has a serious discussion.

 

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Jamus has a good meal with the delegates.

 

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Jamus invites you to Sengkang Sculpture Park.

Jamus Lim​

14 hrs ·
Although National Day has passed this year, our celebration of the nation continues! Join us on Saturday at the Sengkang Sculpture Park, as we draw on the arts (pun intended) and tap on music (and again) to bring our country together. Musical acts include classical and Indian instruments, buskers, as well as a brief acoustic act by your #SengkangGRC MPs, and art expressions include live collaborative painting, childrens’ coloring and painting, and hemma (program details are in the graphic). We hope to catch as many of you as possible this weekend!

 

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Jamus made house visits.

Jamus Lim​

3 hrs ·
On Thursday evening, #TeamSengkang made our way through half of 330B #Anchorvale during our regular house visits. It was wonderful to be reconnecting with residents again, and we received our usual slate of feedback on various municipal concerns, as well as suggestions for ways to improve the estate. As always, we will look into working with the relevant bodies to address these issues, and implement the suggestions when we can.
I had an extended conversation with one #SengkangGRC resident, a fellow educator, who talked about his challenges in the classroom (including how teachers often faced burnout because class sizes were too large to be managed well). But since he was a computing teacher as well, we got into the topic of the training of the next generation of ICT professionals.
I shared with him how I felt that computing education could be broadened. Australia, Estonia, and the UAE have added coding to their respective elementary school education programs, and while we rolled out the Code for Fun program for primary schools in 2020, it is only a brief 10-hour enrichment program, and not a subject that is deeply integrated into the curriculum.
Relatedly, access shouldn’t be artificially constrained. At the moment, entry into university computer science programs are extremely competitive, often to the detriment of students who are otherwise interested and able enough to handle computer studies. It has even gotten to be the case that secondary school students might feel compelled to get into polytechnics first, then head abroad to complete their degree. Some may return, but others may not, and we lose these talents. Yet in the meantime, our labor market feels the need to hire graduates from abroad to meet fairly routine corporate ICT needs, like systems administration, networking infrastructure, and tech support. We should instead train as many locals as we can, up and down the skills value chain.
Sure, we’ll want to also have our best and brightest pursue sophisticated fields like computer science, algorithm engineering, and data science. Such talents will always find a landing spot, whether in our autonomous universities, or top universities worldwide. But my sense is that we can and should develop a deep and wide indigenous ICT workforce, as far as possible, and only fill in the gaps when there are clear imbalances that our locals cannot meet, primarily at the highest skill levels.

 

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Jamus poses masked with an unmasked family.

 

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Jamus asks for permission to speak to resident.

 

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Jamus Lim​

1 hr ·














+4

He Ting Ru 何廷儒​

2 hrs ·
A small group of us from #TeamSengkang covered coffeeshops in #Buangkok and #Anchorvale during The Workers' PartyHammer sales this morning. Thanks to our residents and supporters and who came up to say hi and chat with us! Wishing everyone a good week ahead.

 

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Jamus went to a town fair.

Jamus Lim​

1 hr ·
Like many town fairs held across the island to celebrate our nation’s birthday, our #SengkangGRC Colors in the Park had the usual fare of children’s coloring and drawing competitions, as well as musical and dance performances.
But we also wanted to emphasize a few other themes. One important element was collaboration and community. Hence, we also set up six canvases that were open to anyone to dab their own touch of color to the unfinished pieces. Our musical acts comprised of voluntary performances by, among others, Sengkang residents. And the spirit of genuine sharing—unperturbed by monetary exchange—that we encountered at our free flea market, including by a pair of kid brothers who were giving away their preloved toys.
We also believe that inclusion can bring out the best of us. This applies not just to those who are moved to offer their time and talents to help others; it also enables those who have received support from society-at-large to flourish. One resident who participated in the joint painting work was a lady that suffers from dementia, and I saw many siblings assist each other in their artistic endeavors. Art and music can be both expressive and therapeutic, and I’m happy that we were able to tug on those strings during the event, however briefly.
Finally, we wanted to impart such values—of community, diversity, and inclusion—to the next generation. That’s why we were delighted to see hundreds of children, along with their families, come down and set up picnic blankets, as well as little worktables, across the park. That’s why I loved seeing how the artwork included faces of different colors, and depictions of the elderly, troubled, and sick, all being uplifted by others in society. And that’s why it was wonderful to see young and old folks try their hand at parai drumming.
We hope to make Colors an annual event, We are also pondering the possibility of a sister event—which emphasizes the literary arts (a storytelling competition, poetry slam, book fair)—to be held early next year. So for those who are interested in participating in such future editions—whether it be musical, painting, dance, recitations, or other acts—please feel free to reach out to us!
Thanks to all who came down and joined in our festivities, and to our contingent of #TeamSengkang volunteers, who kept the ship afloat. And of course, special thanks to our artist-consultant, Abu Jalal Sarimon, the team at Superbroadcast—especially Indrus and Wanie—for all their help in putting together the artistic program, and to the organizers of Singapore Really Really Free Market (SRRFM), for rallying their vendors.

 

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Jamus and colleagues pose unmasked with a masked kid.

 

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Jamus and colleagues pose unmasked with a masked father and his masked son.

 

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Jamus watches people dancing.

 

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Jamus watches children colouring.

 

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Jamus watches adults and children painting.

 

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Jamus leads the cheers.

 

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Many masked and unmasked people pose together.